Matthew Morgan
Mighty Matthew

First post:
Oct 23, 2017 Latest post:
Oct 23, 2018

Matthew Joe Morgan was born a fighter. We say that in the most loving way. He is an 18 month old sweet, adorable, elmo- loving little boy. A little boy who has quite the fight ahead of him- one that you would never wish upon anybody.

In the middle of the summer, we found a little red bump in the back of Matthew's mouth. Not thinking much of it, we went about our long and wonderful sun- filled summer days. Matthew was acting his normal self-- throwing himself in the middle of his two older brothers in every way he could, playing with any and every ball he could find, smiling and making friends with anyone that came across his path, swimming, running, and just being his normal toddler self. With the bump at the back of his mouth not going away, we went to our pediatrician and referred to an ENT. The ENT suggested it could be vascular but we would need an MRI to confirm. Within 24 hours of the MRI, we were called and given the news that it was a mass, a tumor, in the back left cavity of his mouth and it extended into his nasal cavity. In order to determine what type of mass this was, he needed a biopsy. It was determined that it was a malignant tumor and we were referred to Ann and Robert H. Lurie's Children's Hospital in Chicago immediately.

Matthew was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. It is most likely embryonal which means that he had it in utero and was born with it. We are thankful that the tumor presented itself in the way it did. Because of that, we are where we are today. We have a team of doctors that are the best in the country and we truly feel that we could not be in better hands. The first couple weeks of all of this have been a total whirlwind. We have been putting one foot in front of the other, living in a total nightmare, but dealing with the realness of this surreal situation. We have learned that the cancer is local- it has not spread to anywhere else in his tiny little body. Positive news that has come out of all of this craziness.

Our family is one of strong faith. We believe in the power of prayer. We believe in the strength of our little boy. We know we can get through this. We just know it.

Matthew has a team of angels that are looking out for him. Angels both in Heaven and here on Earth. These angels have continued to present themselves to us and we are astounded. We are in awe. He is surrounded by love coming from everywhere-- what more would could you ask for...